System and apparatus for a diagnostic breather dryer having a coupleable expansion pack

ABSTRACT

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are provided for implementing a system for providing a breather for a reservoir. The system includes a breather including a housing a dehumidifying element therein. The system further includes an operational sensor positioned within the housing, the operational sensor configured to output a sensor signal indicative of a measured operational parameter of the breather, and an expansion pack coupleable to the housing, the expansion pack is configured to receive the sensor signal indicative of the measured operational parameter and to transmit at least one of the measured operational parameter or a representation thereof. The system includes a control unit communicatively coupleable to the expansion pack having a processor, a display unit, and a storage. The processor executes a control application configured to receive the at least one of the measured operational parameter or representation thereof.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING OR COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to breathers for liquidreservoirs. More particularly, the present invention relates to humiditycontrolling breathers for liquid reservoirs.

Breathers allow for expansion of liquids and gases (e.g., air) in liquid(e.g., lubricant) reservoirs while preventing contamination of theliquid. For liquid reservoirs such as engine crank cases and lubricantstorage reservoirs, water vapor and dust particles in the air can bepulled into the liquid by the expansion and contraction action of theair and liquid in the reservoir with changes in temperature orbarometric pressure of the surrounding environment and the contents ofthe reservoir (i.e., fluid level changes in the reservoir). Currently,breathers are replaced on a schedule, whether the breathers are at theend of their useful life or not because it is difficult to tell when abreather has reached the end of its useful life. Alternatively,breathers utilize color changing desiccants to indicate when thebreather has reached the end of its useful life and needs replacement.The color changing desiccants require transparent breather housingswhich are generally weaker than opaque breather housings, presentchemical incompatibility issues, and the chemicals used to change colormay be considered toxic under some guidelines. Further, the color changemay be faint, difficult to see depending on the location and environmentof the reservoir and breather, and therefore difficult to interpret. Forexample, breather dryers (e.g., desiccant breathers) are commonlymounted on lubricating fluid reservoirs in large format wind turbines.The nacelles in these turbines are typically cramped and include manypoorly lit, hard to reach areas near lubrication reservoirs wherebreathers are located. Visibility of the breather and any color changeis therefore difficult to see. Additionally, the nacelle may typicallyonly be accessed when the wind turbine is shut down (i.e., stopped andnot generating power).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention provide a breather with a dehumidifyingelement, such as a desiccant or deliquescent, and an electronic end oflife detection system. A temperature sensor and humidity sensor providea temperature and humidity of the dehumidifying element to a controller.The controller determines the relative humidity of the dehumidifyingelement, and determines that the dehumidifying element, and thusbreather, has reached its end of life (i.e., end of useful life) whenthe relative humidity reaches a predetermined relative humidity (e.g.,40%).

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, provided is abreather for a reservoir. The breather includes a housing including: adehumidifying element positioned within the housing such that airpassing through the breather from the outside to the inside or from theinside to the outside of the reservoir must pass through thedehumidifying element, an operational sensor positioned within thehousing, wherein the operational sensor is configured to output a sensorsignal indicative of a measured operational parameter of the breather,and an expansion pack coupleable to the housing, the expansion packconfigured to receive the sensor signal indicative of the measuredoperational parameter and to transmit at least one of the measuredoperational parameter or a representation thereof.

The breather may include a plurality of operational sensors eachcoupleable to the expansion pack when the expansion pack is coupled tothe breather. The plurality of operational sensors may include atemperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of an inside ofthe housing adjacent to the temperature sensor, a first humidity sensorconfigured to measure a first humidity level adjacent to a location ofthe first humidity sensor within the housing, and a second humiditysensor configured to measure a second humidity level adjacent to alocation of the second humidity sensor within the housing. The expansionpack may transmit each of a representation of an output of thetemperature sensor, a representation of an output of the first humiditysensor, and a representation of an output of the second humidity sensor.The expansion pack may transmit each of the representation of the outputof the temperature sensor, the representation of the output of the firsthumidity sensor, and the representation of the output of the secondhumidity via at least one of a wired connection and/or a wirelessconnection.

The expansion pack may include a controller which performs at least oneoperation upon at least one of the representation of the output of thetemperature sensor, the representation of the output of the firsthumidity sensor, or the representation of the output of the secondhumidity sensor, and transmits at least a representation of the operatedupon at least one of the representation of the output of the temperaturesensor, the representation of the output of the first humidity sensor,or the representation of the output of the second humidity sensor. Thecontroller is configured to determine at least one end of life parameterbased at least in part upon one or more of the representation of theoutput of the temperature sensor, the representation of the output ofthe first humidity sensor, and the representation of the output of thesecond humidity sensor. The controller may transmit a representation ofthe determined at least one end of life parameter. The expansion packmay include a connector configured to enable electrical communicationbetween the expansion pack and the breather.

A further aspect of the present disclosure relates to a system forproviding a breather for a reservoir. The system includes a breatherhaving: a housing, a dehumidifying element positioned within the housingsuch that air passing through the breather from the outside to theinside or from the inside to the outside of the reservoir must passthrough the dehumidifying element, an operational sensor positionedwithin the housing, wherein the operational sensor is configured tooutput a sensor signal indicative of a measured operational parameter ofthe breather, and an expansion pack coupleable to the housing, theexpansion pack configured to receive the sensor signal indicative of themeasured operational parameter and to transmit at least one of themeasured operational parameter or a representation thereof. The systemfurther includes a control unit communicatively coupleable to theexpansion pack, the control unit including a processor, a display unit,and a storage, the processor configured to execute a control applicationstored in the storage and configured to receive the at least one of themeasured operational parameter or representation thereof.

The system may communicatively couple to the expansion pack via at leastone wireless communication path. The display unit may display at leastone of an end of life parameter or an operational characteristic of thebreather based at least in part upon the sensor signal. The control unitmay include a controller configured to perform one or more operationsupon the received at least one of the measured operational parameter orrepresentation thereof, to determine at least one of an end of lifeparameter or an operational characteristic of the breather based atleast in part upon a result of the one or more operation upon thereceived at least one of the measured operational parameter orrepresentation thereof, and to output a visual indication of thedetermined at least one of the end of life parameter or the operationalcharacteristic of the breather via the display unit. The breather mayinclude a plurality of operational sensors each coupleable to theexpansion pack when the expansion pack is coupled to the breather.

The plurality of operational sensors may include a temperature sensorconfigured to measure a temperature of an inside of the housing adjacentto the temperature sensor, a first humidity sensor configured to measurea first humidity level adjacent to a location of the first humiditysensor within the housing, and a second humidity sensor configured tomeasure a second humidity level adjacent to a location of the secondhumidity sensor within the housing. The expansion pack may wirelesslytransmit each of a representation of an output of the temperaturesensor, a representation of an output of the first humidity sensor, anda representation of an output of the second humidity sensor. Thecontroller may determine at least one end of life parameter based atleast in part upon one or more of the output of the temperature sensor,the output of the first humidity sensor, and the output of the secondhumidity sensor. The controller may transmit a representation of thedetermined at least one end of life parameter to the control unit, thecontrol unit may display at least one of an end of life parameter or anoperational characteristic of the breather based at least in part uponthe one or more of the output of the temperature sensor, the output ofthe first humidity sensor, and the output of the second humidity sensor.

Numerous other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon areading of the following disclosure when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side cutaway view of a breather having a humidity sensor.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method of determining an end of lifecondition of a breather.

FIG. 3 is a side cutaway view of a breather having dual humiditysensors.

FIG. 4 illustrates a front view of an exemplary embodiment of a breatherhaving an external pack.

FIG. 5 illustrates a left side view of an exemplary embodiment of abreather having an external pack coupled thereto according to aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of an exemplary embodiment of a breathercoupled to an external pack according to aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a right side view of an exemplary embodiment of adecreased volume breather having an external pack coupled thereto at amiddle portion thereof according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a front view of an exemplary embodiment of thedecreased volume breather having an external pack coupled theretoaccording aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a partial internal view ofan external pack according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary networkconfiguration of a breather having an external pack coupled thereto andother electronic devices according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 includes both FIGS. 11A and 11B, which when combined provide aflowchart illustrating an exemplary process for determining a life of abreather according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11A provides a first portion of a flowchart illustrating anexemplary process for determining a life of a breather according toaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11B provides a second portion of a flowchart illustrating anexemplary process for determining a life of a breather according toaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for determininga life of a breather according to a breather installation time inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for determininga saturation direction based on humidity sensor readings in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a user interface of acontrol application according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates a front view of an exemplary embodiment of abreather having a headspace coupler attached thereto according toaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary expansion packaccording to aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the making and using of various embodiments of the presentinvention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated thatthe present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts thatcan be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specificembodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways tomake and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of theinvention.

To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments described herein, anumber of terms are defined below. The terms defined herein havemeanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in theareas relevant to the present invention. Terms such as “a,” “an,” and“the” are not intended to refer to only a singular entity, but ratherinclude the general class of which a specific example may be used forillustration. The terminology herein is used to describe specificembodiments of the invention, but their usage does not delimit theinvention, except as set forth in the claims.

Referring to FIG. 1, a breather 100 for a reservoir includes a housing112, a first opening in the housing 114, a second opening in the housing116, a dehumidifying element 118, a humidity sensor 102, and acontroller 104. The first opening in the housing 114 is configured to bein fluid communication with air outside of the reservoir. The secondopening in the housing is configured to be in fluid communication withair inside the reservoir. In various embodiments, the reservoir mayinclude a head space of an asset coupleable to the breather 100.

The dehumidifying element 118 is positioned within the housing 112 suchthat air passing through the breather 100 from the outside to the insideof the reservoir or from the inside to the outside of the reservoir mustpass through the dehumidifying element 118. The dehumidifying element118 may include one or more of a desiccant, a deliquescent, a surfaceconfigured to provide drying, or any other dehumidifying element orcompound.

The humidity sensor 102 is positioned within the housing 112. Thehumidity sensor 102 is operable to provide a humidity signal indicativeof the humidity level adjacent the humidity sensor 102. In oneembodiment, the breather 100 further includes a temperature sensor 120associated with (e.g., positioned in or near) the housing 112. In oneembodiment, the humidity sensor 102 is integral with the temperaturesensor 120. The temperature sensor 120 is also electrically connected tothe controller 104, and the temperature sensor 120 is operable toprovide a temperature signal indicative of a temperature adjacent thetemperature sensor 120 to the controller 104.

The controller 104 is electrically connected to the humidity sensor 102.The controller 104 may be local to the housing 112 or remote from thehousing 112. The controller 104 may be electrically connected to thehumidity sensor 102 via a wired or wireless communications link. Thecommunications link may be analog or digital. The controller 104 isoperable to determine an end-of-life condition of the breather 100 as afunction of the humidity signal received from the humidity sensor 102.In one embodiment, the controller 104 is operable to determine theend-of-life condition as a function of the humidity signal received fromthe humidity sensor 102 and the temperature sensor received from thetemperature sensor 120. The controller 104 uses the temperature signaland the humidity signal to determine a relative humidity associated withthe dehumidifying element 118. In actual usage, the relative humiditystabilizes after initial installation of the breather 100 on thereservoir at approximately 20 to 25%, and the breather 100 reaches theend of its useful life when the relative humidity reaches 40%. In oneembodiment, the controller 104 is operable to determine an estimatedtime of life remaining or an estimated percentage of life remaining as afunction of the determined relative humidity and a historical rate ofchange of the relative humidity calculated by the controller based onprevious relative humidity calculations. In various embodiments, adirect correlation between a head space temperature and/or humidity ofan asset coupled to the breather 100 and a measured temperature and/orhumidity by a sensor of the breather 100 at a top layer of thedehumidifying element 118. When measured in this manner, there may be alag between an actual temperature or humidity measured and the measuredtemperature or humidity. However, this delay and/or a predicted valuemay be calculated in various embodiments to interpret sensor data asclose as possible to actual data.

In one embodiment, the breather 100 further includes a display 130. Thedisplay 130 is electrically connected to the controller 104. The display130 may be local to the controller 104 or remote from the controller104. The electrical connection between the display 130 and thecontroller 104 may be wired or wireless, and may communicate data in ananalog or digital format. The controller 104 is operable to provide anend-of-life signal indicative of the end-of-life status determined bythe controller 104. The display 130 is operable to receive theend-of-life signal from the controller 104 and display to an observer anindication of the end-of-life status of the breather 100 as a functionof the received end-of-life signal. The end-of-life signal is indicativeof at least one of a relative humidity value, a percentage of liferemaining, and an estimated remaining time of life. The end-of-lifestatus displayed by the display 130 includes the at least one relativehumidity value, percentage of life remaining, or estimated remainingtime of life indicated by the end-of-life signal provided by thecontroller 104.

In one embodiment, the breather 100 further includes a pressure sensor140. The pressure sensor 140 is positioned within the housing 112 suchthat air passing through the breather 100 from the inside of thereservoir to the dehumidifying element 118 must pass by the pressuresensor 140. The pressure sensor 140 is operable to provide a pressuresignal indicative of an air pressure adjacent the pressure sensor 140 tothe controller 104. The controller 104 is further configured todetermine a fall condition when the pressure signal indicates that theair pressure adjacent the presser sensor 140 is above a predeterminedpressure limit. In operation, when this pressure is above thepredetermined limit, the breather 100 is defective, or the airflowrequirements of the reservoir have not been properly matched to anappropriately sized breather (i.e., a larger capacity breather should beused with the given reservoir). In one embodiment, the pressure sensor140 is a differential pressure sensor comprising a first pressure sensorin fluid communication with the air inside the reservoir and a secondpressure sensor in fluid communication with the air outside thereservoir. In this embodiment, when the differential pressure sensed bythe pressure sensor 140 exceeds a predetermined limit, the controller104 is operable to determine the fault condition and communicate thefault condition to the display 130 for display to an observer. Invarious exemplary embodiments, a pressure sensor 140 may be optionallyexcluded from the breather 100, and one or more associated sensor valuesmay be calculated, determined, predicted, or omitted.

In one embodiment, the housing 112 includes a polycarbonate body 142,vent plugs 144 at the first opening 114, and a cap 146. The breather 100has a foam bottom 160, a foam top 162, a polyester filter bottom 164, apolyester filter top 166, and a filter ring 190. A space between thefoam top 162 and cap 146 defines a breather headspace 170. The foam top162 is between the dehumidifying element 118 and cap 146. The breather100 includes a standpipe 110. The standpipe 110 has a standpipe bottomend 106 and a stand standpipe top end 108. The standpipe bottom end 106includes a threaded section 180 operable to engage corresponding threadsof the reservoir. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the humiditysensor 102 is substantially surrounded by the dehumidifying element 118.That is, the humidity sensor 102 is located within the dehumidifyingelement 118. In another embodiment, the humidity sensor 102 is locatedwithin the breather cap headspace 170 of the breather 100. In oneembodiment, the pressure sensor 140 is also included located within thebreather cap headspace 170. In another embodiment, the humidity sensor102 is located within the standpipe 110. It is contemplated that thehumidity sensor 102 may be located within the dehumidifying element 118,partially within dehumidifying element 118 on the second opening 116side of the dehumidifying element 118 such that air has to flow past thehumidity sensor 102 as it passes between the dehumidifying element 118and the second opening 116, or outside of the dehumidifying element 118on the second opening 116 side of the dehumidifying element 118 suchthat air has to flow past the humidity sensor 102 as it passes betweenthe dehumidifying element 118 and the second opening 116. It iscontemplated within the scope of the claims that the breather 100 mayinclude any number of first openings 114 and any number of secondopenings 116. In embodiment, the first opening(s) 114 includes a 2 way,pressure limited check valve. The check valve reduces exposure of thedehumidifying element 118 to the atmosphere to prolong the useful lifeof the dehumidifying element 118 and thus breather 100. The pressurelimit prevents small fluctuations in pressure in the reservoir fromdrawing air through the dehumidifying element 118 while allowing larger,less transient pressure changes to draw air through the dehumidifyingelement 118 and maintain the proper pressure in the reservoir (e.g.,approximately atmospheric or environmental pressure). In one embodiment,the check valve is limited at 0.2 psi in either direction.

During out-breathing, as moisturized air from the reservoir headspaceenters the standpipe bottom side 106 and flows upward in to the breatherheadspace 170. The air then passes through the foam filter top 162 andpolyester filter 166 to remove the dust particles over 3 microns out ofthe air. The air then passes through the dehumidifying element 118 wheremoisture gets absorbed from the air.

During in-breathing, breather 100 draws air from the surrounding spacein through the first opening 114. This air first comes through thebottom foam filter 160, then the bottom polyester filter 164 whereparticles over 3 microns are removed. The air then passes through thedehumidifying element 118 where moisture is absorbed by thedehumidifying element 118, and clean, dry air enters in to the top sideof standpipe 108, where it can flow into the reservoir headspace.

In one embodiment, the initial installation of the breather 100 on thereservoir includes removing the breather 100 from packaging, attachingthe breather 102 threads of the reservoir corresponding to the threadedportion 180 of the standpipe 110, and providing power to the controller104. Following initial installation, as dehumidifying element 118absorbs moisture from the reservoir headspace and relative humidity inthe reservoir headspace and breather 100 decrease. In one embodiment,the controller 104 is configured to ignore the humidity signal from thehumidity sensor 102 until the humidity signal indicates that thehumidity level adjacent the humidity sensor 102 has decreased below apredetermined maximum humidity level. In one embodiment, thepredetermined maximum humidity level is a relative humidity level, andthe controller 104 determines that the humidity level adjacent thehumidity sensor 102 has decreased below the predetermined maximumhumidity level as a function of both the temperature signal provided bythe temperature sensor 120 and the humidity signal provided by thehumidity sensor 102. In another embodiment, the controller one of fouris configured to ignore the humidity signal for a predetermined periodof time after initial installation of the breather 100 on the reservoirto allow the humidity adjacent the humidity sensor 102 to drop below thepredetermined maximum humidity level. As continuous in-breathing andout-breathing of the air continues, dehumidifying element 118 graduallyreaches its full saturation capacity and will no longer absorb themoisture out of the air passing therethrough. This allows moisturizedair pass through and flow in and out of the tank headspace if thebreather 100 is not replaced.

Referring to FIG. 2, a method 200 of determining an end-of-lifecondition of the breather 100 begins at 202 when the controller 104receives power. At 204, the control delays program as a function of timeor a calculator relative humidity as described above to allow thehumidity inside the breather 100 to stabilize. In one embodiment, thecontroller 104 delays the start of the humidity sensor monitoring cyclefor 30 minutes. At 206, the controller 104 reads the temperature sensor120 and the humidity sensor 102. At 208, the controller 104 calculatesthe actual relative humidity in the breather 100 based on the data readfrom the temperature sensor 120 and the humidity sensor 102. At 210, thecontroller 104 determines whether the relative humidity is greater than40%. If the controller determines that the relative humidity is notgreater than 40%, then the controller 104 provides the relative humidityto the display 130 (e.g., an LCD display) for display to an observer andagain samples the temperature sensor 120 and the humidity sensor 102 at206. If the controller 104 determines that the relative humidity isgreater than 40% at 210, then the controller 104 senses the relativehumidity to the display 134 display to an observer at 214. At 214, thecontroller 104 may also set an alarm or provide additional input to thedisplay 130 indicating that the breather 100 has reached the end of itsuseful life. The method ends at 216 when the controller 104 ceases toreceive power. Although described with reference to a value of 40%, itshould be appreciated that the relative humidity threshold may be anyspecified, predetermined, or dynamically determined relative humiditypercentage, either obtained from a user, stored or obtained by thecontroller 104, or a combination thereof.

It is contemplated that the breather 100 disclosed herein may be usedwith reservoirs containing lubricating oils, hydraulic fluids, andspecial chemicals to protect those contents from moisture andparticulate ingestion under virtually any condition in any application.It is also contemplated that the dehumidifying element 118 may includeSilica Gel (All Varieties); Activated Alumina; Molecular Sieve (AllVarieties); Activated Carbon/Charcoal (All Varieties); Alumino Silcategels: KC-Trockenperlen® N, KC-Trockenperlen® WS; Calcium Sulfate; ZR gelGrain (ZR, TI); Sodium Polyacrylate; Hygroscopic salts/deliquescentsalts; and Glycols, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, thedehumidifying element 118 may include a deliquescent. In one embodiment,electronic components (e.g., the controller 104 and display 130) areencapsulated in moisture impermeable material (e.g., epoxy resin) toavoid particle contamination and premature failure.

Referring to FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the breather 100 includes dualhumidity sensors. The humidity sensor 102 is a first humidity sensor 102positioned within the housing 112 and substantially surrounded by thedehumidifying element 118. The first humidity sensor 102 is operable toprovide a first humidity signal indicative of a first humidity leveladjacent the first humidity sensor 102 to the controller 104.

A second humidity sensor 302 may be integral with the pressure sensor140 and position within the housing 112 such that air passing throughthe breather 100 from the inside of the reservoir to the dehumidifyingelement 118 and vice versa must pass by the second humidity sensor 302.The second humidity sensor 302 is operable to provide a second humiditysignal indicative of a second humidity level adjacent the secondhumidity sensor to the controller 104. It is contemplated within thescope of the claims that the second humidity sensor 302 may be locatedwithin a thread adapter for adapting the threads of the threaded portionor section 180 of the housing 112 to threads of a corresponding sectionof the reservoir. In such an embodiment, the housing 112 is consideredto include the thread adapter.

The controller 104 is electrically connected to both the first humiditysensor 102 and the second humidity sensor 302. The controller isoperable to receive the first humidity signal from the first humiditysensor 102 and the second humidity signal from the second humiditysensor 302. The controller 104 is operable to determine an end of lifecondition of the breather 100 as a function of the first humidity signaland the second humidity signal. When the first humidity level indicatedby the first humidity signal is approximately equal to or greater thanthe second humidity level indicated by the second humidity signal, thecontroller 104 operates normally as described above to determine the endof life condition by determining the relative humidity associated withthe first humidity sensor 102.

In one embodiment, when the first humidity level indicated by the firsthumidity signal is less than the second humidity level indicated by thesecond humidity signal, the controller 104 can determine a faultcondition. The first humidity level being less than the second humiditylevel indicates that the reservoir has not dried completely (i.e., therelative humidity at the second humidity sensor 302 is still trendingdownward after initial installation of the breather 100 on thereservoir) or that moisture is getting into the reservoir in some way.

In one embodiment, the controller 104 differentiates between initialinstallation and moisture penetration into the reservoir as a functionof the rate of decrease of the relative humidity at the second humiditysensor 302 and the time after initial installation (i.e. power up of thecontroller 104). That is, if the rate of decrease of the relativehumidity of the second humidity sensor 302 decreases without acorresponding increase in the humidity at the first humidity sensor 102,then the controller 104 determines that there is water intrusion intothe reservoir. In this embodiment, the controller 104 only determinesthe fault condition when the controller 104 determines that there iswater intrusion into the reservoir.

In one embodiment, the determined end of life condition is another faultcondition. The controller 104 determines a dewpoint as a function of thepressure signal from the pressure sensor 140 and the temperature signalfrom the temperature sensor 120. When the second humidity level adjacentthe second humidity sensor 302 indicates that the second humidity levelis greater than the dewpoint, the controller 104 determines the faultcondition. In one embodiment, the controller 104 is operable to transmitfault conditions (i.e., end-of-life conditions) to remote terminals ordisplays 130.

FIG. 4 illustrates a front view of an exemplary embodiment of a breather100 having an external pack 400 (e.g., an expansion pack). The externalpack 400 optionally includes at least one mounting location 402. Themounting location 402 may be fixedly and/or removably coupleable to thebreather 100. In various embodiments, one or more mounting locations 402may include a mounting screw, bracket, tactile element, conductivematerial, communicative element, or any other means of physically and/orcommunicatively coupling the external pack 400 to the breather 100(e.g., at housing 112 thereof). Although illustrated and described asbeing part of the external pack 400, it should be appreciated that atleast one of the mounting locations 402 may be a part of or otherwiseassociated with the housing 112 (e.g., as a fixed or removableprotrusion or inlet). In various embodiments, at least a portion of theexternal pack 400 may be contained within a portion of the breather 100,may be external to the breather 100, or any combination thereof.Accordingly, one or more external packs 400 may be configured as a partof a breather 100, may be physically and/or communicatively coupleablewith a breather 100, may be partially contained within a breather 100,and/or may be entirely external to a breather 100. For example, invarious embodiments a breather 100 may include at a portion of anexternal pack 400 relating to radio frequency communications which isconfigured as a part of a breather 100 to be used in the mannerdescribed herein.

The external pack 400 may include at least one controller 426. One ormore of the at least one controller 426 may include one or more elementsconfigured to perform at least one function of the controller 104.Additionally or alternatively, the at least one controller 426 may beconfigured to transmit and/or receive one or more signals associatedwith the controller 104. For example, in various embodiments, the atleast one controller 426 may be configured to communicatively couple toone or more external elements configured to perform at least oneoperation corresponding to the controller 104 (e.g., via a client-serverconfiguration, a distributed computing environment, a cloud computingenvironment, or any other processing configuration capable of performingone or more operations performed by and/or corresponding to thecontroller 104. The external pack 400 may include a power module 428.The power module 428 may be configured to receive at least one of analternating current (AC) and/or direct current (DC) power input, or anyother source of powering at least a portion of the external pack 400 oroperations associated therewith.

The external pack 400 may include a communication module 430. Thecommunication module 430 may be configured to at least one of a sensorassociated with the breather 100 and/or an external control unit. Thecommunication module 430 may be coupled to at least one sensor of thebreather 100 and may be configured to transmit and/or receive at leastone corresponding signal to/from the control unit. The communicationmodule 430 may include one or more wired and/or wireless elementsconfigured to transmit and/or receive one or more signals between theexternal pack 400 and one or more sensor and/or control unit. Thecommunication module 430 may be configured to variously communicate withone or more wired or wireless elements via one or more communicationprotocols. For example, the communication module 430 may be configuredto communicate with at least one element using a proprietary and/orstandard protocol, such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE),ZigBee, Z-Wave, 6LoWPAN, Thread, various IEEE 802.11 standards, cellularcommunication protocol (e.g., GSM, TDMA, GPRS, LTE, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.),Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio frequency Identification (RFID),SigFox, LoRaWAN, Ingenu, ANT/ANT+, DigiMesh, MiWi, EnOcean, Dash7,WirelessHART, or any other wired or wireless communication protocolcapable of sending and/or receiving one or more signals. In variousexemplary embodiments, the communication module 430 may be configured toreceive one or more sensor signal values from within the breather 100via RFID and to transmit one or more associated signals via one or morewired and/or wireless communication mediums.

In one exemplary embodiment, the communication module 430 is configuredto communicatively couple to at least one sensor associated with thebreather 100 (e.g., at least one of humidity sensor 102, temperaturesensor 120, and/or pressure sensor 140). The communication module 430 isoptionally configured to communicate with at least one sensor via atleast one wireless signal. The wireless signal may include a set ofinformation packaged and/or communicated according to one or morecommunication protocol. In an exemplary embodiment, the communicationmodule 430 is configured to communicate with at least one sensor via awireless communication protocol. The wireless communication protocol isan RFID communication protocol in one exemplary embodiment. At least oneof the communication module and the breather 100 or portion thereof mayinclude an antenna or other signal interface configured to transmitand/or receive one or more signals.

Additionally or alternatively, the communication module 430 may beconfigured to be placed in physical electrical contact with at least oneexternal or internal element of the breather 100 configured to conveyone or more signals between the breather 100 and the communicationmodule 430. In one exemplary embodiment, at least one sensor of thebreather 100 and the communication module 430 may be configured tocommunicate according to a wired communication protocol, for example viaone or more conductive wires or elements. Although described withreference to a wired communication protocol, it should be appreciatedthat a wired connection may include one or more wired, contacts,connectors, or any other physical element capable of transmitting and/orreceiving at least one signal between at least one sensor of thebreather 100 and the communication module 430. In various embodiments,at least a portion of the communications module 430 may be configured tobe placed in contact with at least a portion of the breather 100, forexample via a conductive probe or other element configured to convey atleast one signal. Additionally or alternatively, the communicationmodule 430 may include at least one conductive or communicative elementconfigured to physically extend into the housing 112 of the breather 100and/or to be placed in contact with a communicative and/or conductelement associated with at least one sensor of the breather 100.

The communication module 430 is optionally configured to perform one ormore operations either directly upon or otherwise in association with atleast one set of data communicated or intended to be communicatedbetween the communication module 430 and at least one of the controlunit and/or at least one sensor associated with the breather 100. Forexample, the communication module 430 may be configured to format and/orpacketize at least a portion of data. At least one operation associatedwith the set of data may be performed, in whole or in part, in place of,in conjunction with, or directly by a controller of the external pack400.

The communication module 430 is configured in one exemplary embodimentto communicate with the control unit wirelessly. For example, thecommunication module 430 may be configured to communicate with thecontrol unit via at least one of an RFID protocol, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, orany other wireless communication protocol. Additionally oralternatively, the communication module 430 may be configured tocommunicate at least one set of data to and/or from the control unit viaone or more wired communication paths. In various embodiments, thecommunication module 430 includes at least one physical coupler (notillustrated) for receiving at least one wired or wireless couplerconfigured to enable communication between the communication module 430and at least one of the control unit and/or at least one sensor.

The external pack 400 may include an operation module 404. In anexemplary embodiment, the operation module 404 includes a reset buttonconfigured to reset at least one operation of the external pack 400. Theoperation module 404 may be configured to perform one or more fixedand/or configurable operations of the external pack 400. For example, inone exemplary embodiment, the operation module 404 may control one ormore operations including a power on/off command, a reset command, aprogrammable operation, and/or a predetermined operation associated withat least one of the breather 100 and/or the external pack 400.

The housing 112 may include a cap 146 coupleable thereto. The cap 146may variously be fixedly or removably coupleable to the housing 112. Thebase 112 may have coupleable thereto an external connector 420. Theexternal connector 420 may be configured to enable coupling the breather100 to at least one reservoir. A coupling housing 422 may be coupled tothe external connector 420. A mounting element 424 may be coupled to atleast one of the external connector 420 and/or the coupling housing 422.The mounting element 424 may optionally include a threaded portion orany other coupling means. The mounting element 424 may be configured tocouple to at least one reservoir, either directly or indirectly.

FIG. 5 illustrates a left side view of an exemplary embodiment of abreather 100 having an external pack 400 coupled thereto according toaspects of the present disclosure. The exemplary embodiment illustratedby FIG. 5 includes an external pack 400 coupled to the breather 100 viaat least one connector 410. At least one connector 410 may include atleast one of a physical and/or communicative coupling element configuredto couple the external pack 400 and the breather 100. The connector 410may include one or more conductive elements configured to transfer atleast one signal between the breather 100 and the external pack 400.Although illustrated as a physical connection, it should be appreciatedthat one or more of the at least one connector 410 may be configured totransmit one or more signals from the breather 100 to the external pack400 (and/or vice-versa) via at least one wireless or non-conductivecommunication means (e.g., via the communication module 430 aspreviously described herein). Although illustrated as having threeconnectors 410, any number of physically and/or communicativelycoupleable connectors 410 may be implemented to communicate one or moresignals between the breather 100 and the external pack 400.

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of an exemplary embodiment of a breather100 coupled to an external pack 400 according to aspects of the presentdisclosure. The housing 112 of the breather 100 may be physicallycoupleable to the external pack 400 via one or more standoffs 412. Atleast one of the standoffs 412 may be configured to provide a physicalcoupling and/or separation between the housing 112 and the external pack400. In various embodiments, at least one connector 410 may beimplemented as at least one standoff 412 and/or may be included withinat least one standoff 412. For example, in one exemplary embodiment, oneor more standoff 412 may include therein, thereupon, or otherwiseassociated therewith at least one connector 410. At least one of anumber, a spacing, and/or a location of at least one standoff 412 may bepredetermined based at least in part upon a particular size, shape, orconfiguration of a breather 100. Similarly, at least a portion of thebreather 100 may be configured according to a predetermined settingassociated with at least one standoff 412.

FIG. 7 illustrates a right side view of an exemplary embodiment of adecreased volume breather 100 having an external pack 400 coupledthereto at a middle portion thereof according to aspects of the presentdisclosure. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated by FIG. 7, theexternal pack 400 is coupled to the housing 112 of the breather 100 viaplurality of connectors 410 and is further in contact with a standoff412 associated with at least one of the housing 112 and the externalpack 400.

FIG. 8 illustrates a front view of an exemplary embodiment of thedecreased volume breather 100 having an external pack 400 coupledthereto according aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a partial internal view ofan external pack 400 according to aspects of the present disclosure. Theexternal pack 400 may include at least one connector 902, at least onepower source 904, and at least one circuit element 906 a, 906 b, and/or906 c. The external pack 400 may further include one or more of amounting location 402, a controller 426, a power module 428, and/or acommunication module 430. The at least one power source 904 may beplaced in contact with one or more connector 902. In one exemplaryembodiment the at least one power source 904 includes at least onebattery. Additionally or alternatively, the external pack 400 may beconfigured to receive at least one of alternating current (AC) and/ordirect current (DC) power via the power module 428. In variousembodiments, the power module 428 may include one or more connections toan external power source and may optionally include at least one energystorage portion configured to store energy for powering at least aportion of the external pack 400 or element connected thereto. In anexemplary embodiment, the power module 428 may be coupled to a wiredconnection configured to provide both power and signaling. Additionallyor alternatively, at least one of power and signaling may be provided bya combination of both wired and wireless connections. Communicationbetween at least one sensor of a breather 100 and the external pack 400may be performed using a wireless communication interface between thebreather 100 and the external pack 400.

The external pack 400 may be configured to operate in a legacy/retrofitconfiguration, whereby sensors of a breather 100 may be coupled to acontrol module as described herein. In one exemplary embodiment, two ormore external packs may be configured to communicate one or more sets ofinformation via at least one of a wired and/or wireless communicationsinterface therebetween. For example, the external pack 400 may beconfigured to communicate with at least one other external pack 400and/or control module according to a wireless communication protocolsuch as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or any other communications medium orstandard. Additionally or alternatively, at least one wired connectionmay be used for environments where wireless communication is inoperableor inefficient. One or more control protocols may be used for wiredand/or wireless control and/or signaling associated with the externalpack 400 including, for example, X10, A10, UPB, INSTEON, Z-Wave, ZigBee,or any other communication protocol.

In various embodiments, the external pack 400 may be configured toobtain and/or transmit at least one value corresponding to a sensor ofthe breather 100 at a regular interval. For example, the external pack400 may be configured to receive and/or transmit at least one sensorvalue once per hour, once per minute, once per second, etc. In oneexemplary embodiment, the interval value may be determined based atleast upon an input power source. For example, the external pack 400 maybe configured to obtain at least one sensor value at a more frequentinterval when coupled to a wired power source than when operating onbattery power.

At least one circuit element 906 a, 906 b, 906 c may include one or morededicated or shared portions for communicating with or regarding atleast one of the breather 100 and/or the control unit, for controllingat least one operation of the breather 100 and/or the control unit,and/or for collecting and/or storing at least a portion of datacorresponding to at least one of the breather 100 and/or the controlunit.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary networkconfiguration of a breather 100 having an external pack 400 coupledthereto and other electronic devices according to aspects of the presentdisclosure. The system 1000 includes a breather 100 coupled to areservoir and further coupled to an external pack 400. The external pack400 is configured to communicate with at least one of a network 1010, acontrol unit 1020, an electronic device 1030, and/or an external device1040.

The control unit 1020 may be a computing device at a fixed location ator near the breather 100 and/or may be or otherwise include a mobileelement capable of communicating with the external pack 400 by wired orwireless communication. In one exemplary embodiment, the control unit1020 is a tablet computing device or mobile device capable of wirelesslycommunicating with the external pack 400, for example using an RFIDcommunication protocol, a Bluetooth communication protocol, a Wi-Ficommunication protocol, or any other wireless means of communicatinginformation between the external pack 400 and the control unit 1020. Invarious embodiments, the control unit 1020 may be carried by a person,may be fixed to a mobile device such as a vehicle, and/or may be bothconfigured to be transported by a mobile device and/or carried by aperson. A distance at which the control unit 1020 may communicate withthe external pack 400 may vary based at least in part upon a particularwireless communication protocol or network used. For example, acommunicative range of an RFID protocol may be less than that of aBluetooth range, which may in turn be less than that of a Wi-Fi range.The system 1000 may be configured such that any of one or a plurality ofcommunication protocols may be selected for use based at least in partupon a signal strength, a trusted network identifier, a private networkidentifier, a user-based or automatic determination, or the like.

The control unit 1020 may be configured to communicate one or moresignals relating to the breather 100 with the external pack 400.Communications between the control unit 1020 and the external pack 400may be direct between the communication module 1026 of the control unit1020 and the communication module 430 of the external pack 400 and/or atleast a portion thereof may be communicated, in whole or in part, viathe network 1010. The external pack 400 may be configured to obtainsensor data from the breather 100 (e.g., from one or more of a humiditysensor 102, a temperature sensor 120, and/or a pressure sensor 140) andto transmit the obtained sensor data or representation thereof to thecontrol unit 1020.

In one exemplary embodiment, the network 1010 includes one or more ofthe Internet, a public network, a private network, or any othercommunications medium capable of conveying electronic communications.Connection between a communication module 1026 of the control unit 1020and the network 1010 is configured to be performed by wired interface,wireless interface, or a combination thereof, without departing from thespirit and the scope of the present disclosure. In one exemplaryoperation, the control unit 1020 is configured to store one or more setsof instructions in a storage 1024. The one or more sets of instructionsmay be configured to be executed by a processor 1022 of the control unit1020 to perform operations corresponding to the one or more sets ofinstructions.

In various exemplary embodiments, the control unit 1020 is implementedas at least one of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a smart phone,or any other electronic device capable of executing instructions. Theprocessor 1022 is configured to take the form of a generic hardwareprocessor, a special-purpose hardware processor, or a combinationthereof. In embodiments having a generic hardware processor (e.g., as acentral processing unit (CPU) available from manufacturers such as Inteland AMD), the generic hardware processor is configured to be convertedto a special-purpose processor by means of being programmed to executeand/or by executing a particular algorithm in the manner discussedherein for providing a specific operation or result.

The control unit 1020 is configured in various embodiments to beassociated with a mobile user, and is capable of being transported,either during operation or while powered off. In one embodiment wherethe control unit 1020 is a cellular telephone or smartphone, the controlunit 1020 is at least temporarily located at a location at or near thebreather 100. In various embodiments, the control unit 1020 isconfigured to operate remotely, and is configured to obtain or otherwiseoperate upon one or more instructions stored physically remote from thecontrol unit 1020 (e.g., via client-server communications and/orcloud-based computing).

The control unit 1020 may include a display unit 1028. The display unit1028 is embodied within the control unit 1020 in one embodiment, and isconfigured to be either wired to or wirelessly-interfaced with the enduser electronic device 200. The display unit 1020 may be configured tooperate, at least in part, based upon one or more operations of theexternal pack 400 or controller associated therewith, as executed inwhole or in part by the processor 1022. Although operable using thedisplay unit 1022 of the control unit 1020, an application or interfaceassociated with a user of the control unit 1020 may be capable ofexecuting and operating using a plurality of devices. For example, oneor more control units 1020 may include smart phones, tablets, laptopcomputers, etc., each having different processors 1022, screenresolutions, memory sizes, etc., but each may be capable of executingthe a control application after download and/or installation of at leasta portion of the control application received, for example, from theexternal device 1040.

The control unit 1020 may be configured to receive the sensor data orrepresentation, to optionally perform one or more operations on thedata, and to optionally present the data or representation, for examplevia the display unit 1028. A user of the control unit 1020 may bepresented with one or more visual indicia relating to the sensor data orrepresentation thereof via the display unit 1028 (for example, asillustrated by and described herein with reference to FIG. 14). A userof the control unit 1020 may review sensor data corresponding to thebreather 100 and may selectively initiate, control, pause, or end one ormore operations corresponding to the breather 100. A control applicationimplemented by the control unit 1020 may be configured to detect orpredict a breather life parameter based at least in part upon theobtained sensor data or representation thereof. The control applicationmay be selectively configured to present an audio and/or visualindicator to a user of the control unit 1020 relating to at least oneoperational parameter of the breather 100 in association with at leastapportion of the obtained sensor data or representation thereof. Invarious embodiments, the control application may present one or morecharts, graphs, raw data, or other information to a user of the controlunit 1020 to permit the user to monitor and/or control an actual orestimated life parameter associated with the breather 100.

The external device 1040 is configured to perform one or more operationscorresponding to the control application. Although illustrated as asingle element, the external device 1040 may be implemented as aplurality of computing elements, any of which may be located eitherwithin a single computing element or a plurality of computing elements.In one exemplary embodiment, the external device 1040 is configured tostore at least a portion of an executable file, a portion of computercode, or other information associated with the control application atthe storage 1042, such that at least a portion of data corresponding tothe control application is transmitted from the external device 1040 toat least one of the control unit, the electronic device, and/or theexternal pack 400 via the network 1010. For example, the external device1040 may perform one or more functions corresponding to an applicationstore configured to provide an executable copy of the controlapplication to a requesting entity, either automatically or in responseto a download request.

The external device 1040 may, in one exemplary embodiment, include astorage 1042 configured to store at least a portion of datacorresponding to the control application. In one embodiment, the atleast a portion of data corresponding to the control application mayinclude an executable or installable file for use by a downloadingentity. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one portion of datamay contain or embody a link or other association with at least one filelocated remotely from the external device 1040.

The system 1000 may further include at least one electronic device 1030.The electronic device 1030 may be configured to transmit and/or receivedata corresponding to the breather 100 in various embodiments. Theelectronic device 1030 may include a storage 1034, configured to storeat least one of computer instructions and/or data or metadata associatedwith the control application and/or breather 100. A processor 1032 ofthe electronic device 1030 is configured to execute one or more set ofinstructions in a manner similar to that described above with relationto processor 1022. The electronic device 1030 may further include acommunication module 1036. The communication module 1036 may beconfigured to communicate via the network 1010, for example using atleast one of a wired and/or wireless communication path. One or more ofthe memory 1034, the processor 1032, and the communication module 1036may be coupled via a bus. The bus may be a conductive path in oneexemplary embodiment, however any means of conveying at least a portionof a signal between two or more of the memory 1034, the processor 1032,and/or the communications module 1036 may be used as the bus withoutdeparting from the spirit and the scope of the present disclosure.

The electronic device 1030 may include a mobile electronic deviceassociated with a user. For example, the electronic device 1030 mayinclude a smartphone, laptop computer, tablet computer, or any othermobile computing device. The electronic device 1030 may be configured tostore and/or execute at least a portion of the control applicationdescribed above with reference to the control unit 1020. Like thecontrol unit 1020, the electronic device 1030 may be configured toobtain at least a portion of a control application from the externaldevice 1040.

At least one control unit 1020 may be associated with one or moreexternal packs 400 while one or more electronic devices 1030 may bedynamically associable with one or more external packs 400. For example,one or more fixed-location control units 1020 may be placed in wirelessproximity of one or more external packs (for example in a plant orfactory having a plurality of breathers 100) for monitoring and/orcontrolling at least one operation of a breather 100, while at least oneelectronic device 1030 may be carried by a user and may be capable ofmonitoring and/or controlling at least one operation of a breather 100while the electronic device 1030 is within wireless communication rangeof the breather 100. The control application may be configured in oneembodiment to cause a control unit 1020 or electronic device 1030executing the control application perform at least one of active andpassive data collection relating to the breather 100. For example, thecontrol application may be configured to operate in the background ofthe computing device executing the control application, for example atperiodic or non-periodic times, and/or may be configured to constantlymonitor at least one set of information relating to a breather 100 whilethe device operates in a passive mode, such as during standby or whilein a sleep mode or while unattended by a user.

In various embodiments, at least a portion of obtained data relating toa breather 100 may be transmitted, in whole or in part, between acomputing element having obtained at least a portion of data and one ormore other computing elements external to the obtaining computingelement, for example via the network 1010. At least a portion of dataobtained at a computing device via the external device 400 may beautomatically uploaded to at least one other computing element uponreceipt and/or may be stored for transmission at a later time, forexample at a predetermined time or upon the computing element obtainingnetwork access capable of transmitting the obtained data (e.g., via theInternet and/or private network).

FIG. 11 includes FIGS. 11A and 11B, which together provide a flowchartillustrating an exemplary process 1100 for determining a life of abreather 100 according to aspects of the present disclosure. A breather100 for use with the method 1100 may include a plurality of sensorsplaced in or otherwise communicatively coupleable to the breather 100,for example located at a top and a bottom layer of silica gel of thebreather 100.

The process 1100 begins at a step 1102. At a step 1104 a valueassociated with an operational parameter of the breather 100 may beconverted between units or unit types, if required (e.g., a temperaturemay be converted between units of measurement, a pressure may beconverted between units of pressure, or any other manipulation of anumber or type associated with an operational parameter of the breather100). The process continues to a step 1106 where an optional dataoperation is performed on one or more values or sets of informationrelating to the breather 100 or to an operational parameter thereof. Inone exemplary embodiment, the optional data operation may include anaveraging operation.

At a step 1108, it is determined whether a first parameter associatedwith the breather 100 is within a tolerance. The tolerance may includeany predetermined value, a dynamically determined value, or combinationthereof. If it is determined that the first parameter is not within atolerance range or value, the process continues to a step 1110 where itis determined whether the first parameter exceeds a maximum value. If itis determined at the step 1110 that the first parameter does not exceedthe maximum value, the process continues to a step 1112 where athreshold value is set. The threshold value may be a predeterminedvalue, a dynamically determined value, or combination thereof, and maybe based at least in part upon the value of the first parameter or arepresentation thereof. Similarly, if it is determined at the step 1110that the first parameter exceeds the maximum value, a threshold valuemay be set at the step 1114. Although illustrated with reference to asame block 1112/1114, it should be appreciated that the steps 1112 and1114 may be implemented by applying different threshold values comparedto one another, each based at least in part upon the first parametervalue, the tolerance value, a value associated with the breather 100, ora combination thereof. The process then continues to both steps 1118 and1130. If it is determined at the step 1108 that the first parameter iswithin the tolerance range or value, the process continues to a step1116 where the threshold value is determined, for example using one ormore values associated with one or more of the plurality of sensors.

The process then continues to the step 1118, where an optional dataoperation is performed in relation to at least one value or operationalparameter associated with at least one of the plurality of sensors. Theprocess continues to a step 1120 where it is determined if an obtainedfirst sensor value is within an acceptable range. If it is determinedthat the value of the first sensor value is within the acceptable range,the process continues to a step 1124. If it is determined that the valueof the first sensor value is not within the acceptable range, theprocess continues to a step 1122 where the first sensor value is set.The process then continues to the step 1124 where it is determinedwhether the first sensor value exceeds a threshold value. If the firstsensor value exceeds the threshold value, at least one of the firstsensor value or the threshold value is stored or otherwise obtained at astep 1128 and the process continues to a step 1142. If the first sensorvalue does not exceed the threshold value, the first sensor value isstored or otherwise obtained at a step 1126 and the process continues tothe step 1142.

Concurrent with, prior to, or after step 1118 is performed, the step1130 may be performed, whereby an optional data operation is performedin relation to at least one value or operational parameter associatedwith at least one of the plurality of sensors. The process continues toa step 1132 where it is determined if an obtained second sensor value iswithin an acceptable range or value. The second sensor value may be asecond measured value of a same of the plurality of sensors and/or mayinclude a measurement or parameter associated with a second sensor ofthe plurality of sensors. If the obtained second sensor value is withinthe acceptable range or value, the process continues to a step 1136. Ifit is determined at step 1132 that the obtained second sensor value isnot within the acceptable range or value, the process continues to astep 1134 where the second sensor value may be set and/or otherwiseobtained. The process then continues to the step 1136 where it isdetermined whether the second sensor value exceeds a threshold value. Invarious embodiments, the threshold value addressed at the step 1136 maybe the same or different from the threshold value of the step 1124. Ifthe second sensor value exceeds the threshold value, at least one of thesecond sensor value or the threshold value may be stored or otherwiseobtained at a step 1138 and the process continues to a step 1142. If thesecond sensor value does not exceed the threshold value, the process maycontinue to a step 1140, where the sensor value is stored, and theprocess may continue to the step 1142.

At step 1142 the breather life percentage is calculated. The processthen continues to a step 1144 where the calculated breather lifepercentage is optionally compared to a predetermined value. Thepredetermined value may be a value associated with at least one of thebreather 100 and/or a component thereof. If it is determined at step1144 that the current breather life percentage is greater than thepredetermined value, the process continues to a step 1146 where thepredetermined value may be selected (e.g., for presentation to a userand/or use in determining or otherwise operating in accordance with abreather life parameter or value). The process then ends at a step 1150.If, however, it is determined at the step 1144 that the breather lifepercentage is not greater than the predetermined value, the processcontinues to a step 1148 where the calculated breather life percentageis optionally selected. The process then ends at the step 1150.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 1200 fordetermining a life of a breather 100 according to a breatherinstallation time in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.The process 1200 begins at a step 1202. At a step 1204 an installationtimestamp is obtained and optionally stored, for example in a variableinstalledDatetime. The process then continues to a step 1206 where acurrent timestamp is obtained and is optionally stored, for example in avariable currentDatetime. A difference between the values of currenttimestamp (e.g., currentDatetime) and the installation timestamp (e.g.,installedDatetime) is calculated and optionally stored, for example in avariable timeLapse at step 1208. The process continues to a step 1210where it is determined whether the value of the difference between thevalues of the current timestamp and the installation timestamp exceeds apredetermined time period. In various exemplary embodiments, thepredetermined time period may be any predetermined or dynamicallydetermined threshold value associated with the breather 100 and/orcomponent thereof, thus any predetermined time period may be usedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.If it is determined that difference between the values of the currenttimestamp and the installation timestamp does not exceed thepredetermined time period, the process continues to a step 1212 wherethe process 1100 is performed by returning to the step 1102. If,however, it is determined that difference between the values of thecurrent timestamp and the installation timestamp exceeds thepredetermined time period, the process continues to a step 1214 where anexpiration notice or expiration signal may be generated and/or presentedto a user. The process then ends at a step 1216.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 1300 fordetermining a saturation direction associated with a breather 100 basedat least in part upon processing sensor data in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure. The process 1300 begins at a step 1302. At astep 1304 at least one set of data is obtained from at least one sensorof a plurality of sensors associated with a breather 100. The obtainedat least one set of data may be stored, for example, by a component ofthe breather 100 or by one or more components communicatively coupleableto the breather 100. At least a portion of obtained sensor data may beprocessed at a step 1306. The at least a portion of obtained sensor datamay be processed locally at the breather 100, remotely from the breather100, or any combination thereof. In various embodiments, a humiditysaturation direction may be determined at a step 1308 based at least inpart upon the processed at least portion of sensor data. The process mayend at a step 1310.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a user interface 1400 ofa control application according to aspects of the present disclosure.The user interface 1400 optionally includes a breather life section1402. The breather life section 1402 may include an identifier of aparticular breather, the estimated remaining life of which maybevisually conveyed to a user. The estimated remaining life data conveyedvia the breather life section 1402 may be calculated, in whole or inpart, via one or more processes, for example as illustrated by anddescribed herein with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. At least oneestimated remaining life value used to determine visual output in thesaturation detection section 1402 may be determined at least in partfrom information provided to an external device 400 via one or morewired and/or wireless communication paths between the breather 100 andthe external device 400 as previously described herein. At least oneestimated remaining life value may be determined by data provided fromthe external pack 400 to the controller application and/or may bedetermined, in whole or in part, by at least one of the breather 100 orexternal pack 400 (e.g., by a controller thereof). The controllerapplication may be configured to receive raw sensor data, processedsensor data, and/or determined output values at least in part from theexternal pack 400 via a wired or wireless communication path between theexternal pack 400 and the controller application.

The user interface 1400 may optionally include saturation detectionsection 1404. The saturation detection section 1404 may be configured tovisually convey information relating to a humidity saturation directiondetermined based at least in part upon obtained data received from afirst and a second humidity sensor. At least one humidity saturationvalue used to determine visual output in the saturation detectionsection 1404 may be determined at least in part from informationprovided to an external device 400 via one or more wired and/or wirelesscommunication paths between the breather 100 and the external device 400as previously described herein.

At least one saturation detection value may be determined by dataprovided from the external pack 400 to the controller application and/ormay be determined, in whole or in part, by at least one of the breather100 or external pack 400 (e.g., by a controller thereof). The controllerapplication may be configured to receive raw sensor data, processedsensor data, and/or determined output values at least in part from theexternal pack 400 via a wired or wireless communication path between theexternal pack 400 and the controller application. The saturationdirection data presented in the saturation detection section 1404 maycorrespond to saturation information determined as illustrated by anddescribed with reference to FIG. 13.

The user interface 1400 may optionally include a headspace pressuresection 1406. The headspace pressure section 1406 may be configured tovisually convey information relating to a measured headspace pressurevalue of the breather 100. At least one measured headspace pressurevalue used to determine visual output in the headspace pressure section1406 may be determined at least in part from information provided to anexternal device 400 via one or more wired and/or wireless communicationpaths between the breather 100 and the external device 400 as previouslydescribed herein. The at least one headspace pressure value may bedetermined by data provided from the external pack 400 to the controllerapplication and/or may be determined, in whole or in part, by at leastone of the breather 100 or external pack 400 (e.g., by a controllerthereof). The controller application may be configured to receive rawsensor data, processed sensor data, and/or determined output values atleast in part from the external pack 400 via a wired or wirelesscommunication path between the external pack 400 and the controllerapplication.

The user interface 1400 may optionally include a temperature section1408. The temperature section 1408 may be configured to visually conveyinformation relating to a measured temperature value of the breather100. The measured temperature value may be determined, at least in part,according to one or more sensed temperature values, for example measuredusing at least one temperature sensor of the breather 100. In variousembodiments, a plurality of measured temperatures may be averaged aspreviously described herein. At least one measured temperature valueused to determine visual output in the headspace pressure section 1406may be determined at least in part from information provided to anexternal device 400 via one or more wired and/or wireless communicationpaths between the breather 100 and the external device 400 as previouslydescribed herein. The at least one temperature value may be determinedby data provided from the external pack 400 to the controllerapplication and/or may be determined, in whole or in part, by at leastone of the breather 100 or external pack 400 (e.g., by a controllerthereof). The controller application may be configured to receive rawsensor data, processed sensor data, and/or determined output values atleast in part from the external pack 400 via a wired or wirelesscommunication path between the external pack 400 and the controllerapplication.

The user interface 1400 may optionally include a battery life section1410. The battery life section 1410 may be configured to visually conveyinformation relating to an operational power measurement associated withthe external pack 400. In various embodiments, the battery life section1410 may be configured to visually convey an estimated remaining powerassociated with the at least one power source 904. Such battery estimatevalue may permit a user to determine if and when the at least one powersource 904 should be modified, charged, and/or replaced. The controlapplication may be configured to provide one or more alerts and/orwarnings to a user based at least in part upon a status of theinformation conveyed in the battery life section 1410.

The user interface 1400 may optionally include a unit change section1412. The unit change section 1412 may be selected by a user to permitthe user of the control application to view and/or modify one or moreunit settings. Unit settings viewable and/or modifiable by a user mayinclude one or more of alarm settings, warning settings, calibrationinformation, tolerance information, operational information,identification information, or any other operational or characteristicinformation associated with at least one breather 100.

The user interface 1400 may further optionally include a breather listsection 1414 configured to permit a user to view and/or select at leastone breather to which the user may access, view, or modify information.In one exemplary embodiment, the breather list section 1414 isconfigured to identify any breathers 100 within range or accessibilityof the electronic device executing the control application. For example,the breather list section 1414 may be configured to present allbreathers 100 within wireless communication range of the electronicdevice executing the control application.

The user interface 1400 may include an additional information section1416 configured to enable a user to select to obtain additionalinformation, such as frequently asked questions, support information,product information, or any other form of information. The userinterface 1400 may further include a contact section 1418 configured topermit a user to obtain and/or directly contact a maker of the breather100 and/or control application.

FIG. 15 illustrates a front view of an exemplary embodiment of abreather having a head space coupler attached thereto according toaspects of the present disclosure. The system 1500 include a breather100 coupled to a head space 1520 via a mounting element 424. The headspace 1520 may correspond to a reservoir as described herein. The system1500 may include at least one head space coupler 1510 coupled betweenthe mounting element 424 and the external pack 400. The head spacecoupler 1510 may include at least one passageway configured to transportpermit air transfer between the head space 1520 and the external pack400. In one exemplary embodiment, the head space coupler 1510 isconfigured as a hose coupled between the head space 1520 and theexternal pack 400. The head space coupler 1510 may be any rigid orflexible member capable of transporting at least one of air and/orinformation between the head space 1520 and the external pack 400.

As described below with reference to FIG. 16, the external pack 400 maybe configured to include at least one sensor therein, the at least onesensor configured to measure at least one attribute associated with thehead space 1520. For example, the sensor within the external pack 400may be a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, orany other sensor or sensing element configured to determine at least oneattribute associated with the head space 1520. The head space coupler1510 may be an insulated or non-insulated rubber hose in one embodiment,although any material may be used within the scope of the presentdisclosure. Although not illustrated, the head space coupler 1510 mayinclude one or more elements configured to perform one or moreoperations on airflow between the head space 1520 and the external pack400. For example, at least one element may be configured to conditionand/or measure at least one attribute of air transferred from the headspace 1520 to the external pack 400 (e.g., temperature, pressure,humidity, airflow speed, or any other parameter).

FIG. 16 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary expansion pack 1600according to aspects of the present disclosure. The expansion pack 1600may include one or more elements of an external pack 400 as describedherein. For example, the external pack 400 may include one or moreelements as illustrated by and described with reference to FIG. 9,above. The expansion pack 1600 may include at least one portion 1610.The portion 1610 may include a cavity or section at least partiallywithin the expansion pack 1600. Additionally or alternatively, at leasta portion of the portion 1610 may be included within, outside of, ofpartially inside and/or outside of an interior section of the expansionpack 1600. In one exemplary embodiment, the portion 1610 may beconfigured to couple to the external pack 400/1600 via one or morephysical and/or communicatively couplings. For example, an external pack400 may be configured to be retrofitted with a portion 1610 withoutdeparting from the spirit and the scope of the present disclosure.

The portion 1610 may include one or more sensor 1612. For example, inthe embodiment illustrated by FIG. 16, the portion 1610 may include anynumber of sensors 1612 a, 1612 b, . . . , 1612 n. Each of the one ormore sensors 1612 may include a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, apressure sensor, or any other sensor previously described herein. Onemore sensor 1612 may be coupled to a head space coupler 1510 via a port1630. One or more sensor 1612 may be coupled to a communication module1620 via at least one bus 1614. In one exemplary embodiment, thecommunication module 1620 may be configured to operate as previouslydescribed with reference to the communication module 430. Additionallyor alternatively, at least a portion of information may be received byand/or transmitted from the communication module 430 (e.g., via the atleast one bus 1614). Although illustrated in FIG. 16 as being physicallyseparate from at least one element of the external pack 400, it shouldbe appreciated that in some embodiments, at least a portion of variouselements of each of the external pack 400 and the portion 1610 mayoccupy a common area and/or enclosure.

Using the embodiment illustrated by FIGS. 15 & 16, it is possible toprovide real-time conditions of an asset by directly measuring headspace conditions of the asset. To interpret asset head space conditions(e.g., temperature, pressure, and/or humidity), one or more sensors suchas one or more temperature/humidity sensors and one or more pressuresensors placed in the expansion pack 1600 in direct communication withthe head space 1520 of the asset via the head space coupler 1510. Oneend of the head space coupler 1510 may be coupled to the expansion pack1600 while the other end may be coupled to a bottom section of mountingelement 424 (e.g., a breather standpipe). As such, direct sensing of atleast one head space parameter may be performed at the portion 1610 ofthe expansion pack 1600. In one exemplary embodiment, one or more setsof sensor data may be obtained by each of the expansion pack 1600 andone or more sensors of the breather 100, and sets of sensor data fromeach of the expansion pack 1600 and the breather 100 may be obtainedand/or used to perform one or more calculations, determination,operations, and/or outputs described herein.

It will be understood by those of skill in the art that information andsignals may be represented using any of a variety of differenttechnologies and techniques (e.g., data, instructions, commands,information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof). Likewise, thevarious illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmsteps described herein may be implemented as electronic hardware,computer software, or combinations of both, depending on the applicationand functionality. Moreover, the various logical blocks, modules, andcircuits described herein may be implemented or performed with a generalpurpose processor (e.g., microprocessor, conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, state machine or combination of computingdevices), a digital signal processor (“DSP”), an application specificintegrated circuit (“ASIC”), a field programmable gate array (“FPGA”) orother programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein. Similarly, steps of a method orprocess described herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Althoughembodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

A controller, processor, computing device, client computing device orcomputer, such as described herein, includes at least one or moreprocessors or processing units and a system memory. The controller mayalso include at least some form of computer readable media. By way ofexample and not limitation, computer readable media may include computerstorage media and communication media. Computer readable storage mediamay include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology that enables storage ofinformation, such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data. Communication media may embody computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other datain a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism and include any information delivery media. Those skilled inthe art should be familiar with the modulated data signal, which has oneor more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as toencode information in the signal. Combinations of any of the above arealso included within the scope of computer readable media. As usedherein, server is not intended to refer to a single computer orcomputing device. In implementation, a server will generally include anedge server, a plurality of data servers, a storage database (e.g., alarge scale RAID array), and various networking components. It iscontemplated that these devices or functions may also be implemented invirtual machines and spread across multiple physical computing devices.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention andalso to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention,including making and using any devices or systems and performing anyincorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is definedby the claims, and may include other examples that occur to thoseskilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within thescope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differfrom the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalentstructural elements with insubstantial differences from the literallanguages of the claims.

It will be understood that the particular embodiments described hereinare shown by way of illustration and not as limitations of theinvention. The principal features of this invention may be employed invarious embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize numerous equivalentsto the specific procedures described herein. Such equivalents areconsidered to be within the scope of this invention and are covered bythe claims.

All of the compositions and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein maybe made and/or executed without undue experimentation in light of thepresent disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this inventionhave been described in terms of the embodiments included herein, it willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that variations may beapplied to the compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in thesequence of steps of the method described herein without departing fromthe concept, spirit, and scope of the invention. All such similarsubstitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art aredeemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

Thus, although there have been described particular embodiments of thepresent invention of new and useful SYSTEMS AND APPARATUSES FOR ADIAGNOSTIC BREATHER DRYER HAVING A COUPLEABLE EXPANSION PACK it is notintended that such references be construed as limitations upon the scopeof this invention except as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A breather for a reservoir, the breathercomprising: a housing, the housing including: a dehumidifying elementpositioned within the housing such that air passing through the breatherfrom the outside to the inside or from the inside to the outside of thereservoir must pass through the dehumidifying element; and anoperational sensor positioned within the housing, wherein theoperational sensor is configured to output a sensor signal indicative ofa measured operational parameter of the breather; and an expansion packcoupleable to the housing, the expansion pack configured to receive thesensor signal indicative of the measured operational parameter and totransmit at least one of the measured operational parameter or arepresentation thereof, wherein the expansion pack comprises at leastone sensor and further comprises an intake section configured to coupleto a head space coupler, wherein the at least one sensor is configuredto measure at least one parameter associated with a medium received atthe intake section.
 2. The breather of claim 1, wherein the breathercomprises a plurality of operational sensors each coupleable to theexpansion pack when the expansion pack is coupled to the breather. 3.The breather of claim 2, wherein the plurality of operational sensorscomprises a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of aninside of the housing adjacent to the temperature sensor, a firsthumidity sensor configured to measure a first humidity level adjacent toa location of the first humidity sensor within the housing, and a secondhumidity sensor configured to measure a second humidity level adjacentto a location of the second humidity sensor within the housing, andwherein the expansion pack is configured to transmit each of arepresentation of an output of the temperature sensor, a representationof an output of the first humidity sensor, and a representation of anoutput of the second humidity sensor.
 4. The breather of claim 3,wherein the expansion pack is configured to transmit each of therepresentation of the output of the temperature sensor, therepresentation of the output of the first humidity sensor, and therepresentation of the output of the second humidity sensor via aphysically wired communication interface.
 5. The breather of claim 3,wherein the expansion pack is configured to transmit each of therepresentation of the output of the temperature sensor, therepresentation of the output of the first humidity sensor, and therepresentation of the output of the second humidity sensor via awireless communication interface.
 6. The breather of claim 3, whereinthe expansion pack includes a controller, the controller configured toperform at least one operation upon at least one of the representationof the output of the temperature sensor, the representation of theoutput of the first humidity sensor, or the representation of the outputof the second humidity sensor, and to transmit at least a representationof the operation upon at least one of the representation of the outputof the temperature sensor, the representation of the output of the firsthumidity sensor, or the representation of the output of the secondhumidity sensor.
 7. The breather of claim 6, wherein the controller isconfigured to determine at least one end of life parameter based atleast in part upon one or more of the representation of the output ofthe temperature sensor, the representation of the output of the firsthumidity sensor, and the representation of the output of the secondhumidity sensor.
 8. The breather of claim 7, wherein the controller isconfigured to transmit a representation of the determined at least oneend of life parameter.
 9. The breather of claim 1, wherein the at leastone sensor comprises at least one of a temperature sensor, a humiditysensor, and a pressure sensor, wherein the at least one sensor isconfigured to measure the at least one parameter from air received viathe intake section.
 10. A system for providing a breather for areservoir, the system comprising: a breather having: a housing; adehumidifying element positioned within the housing such that airpassing through the breather from the outside to the inside or from theinside to the outside of the reservoir must pass through thedehumidifying element; an operational sensor positioned within thehousing, wherein the operational sensor is configured to output a sensorsignal indicative of a measured operational parameter of the breather;and an expansion pack coupleable to the housing, the expansion packconfigured to receive the sensor signal indicative of the measuredoperational parameter and to transmit at least one of the measuredoperational parameter or a representation thereof; a control unitcommunicatively coupleable to the expansion pack, the control unitincluding a processor, a display unit, and a storage, the processorconfigured to execute a control application stored in the storage andconfigured to receive the at least one of the measured operationalparameter or representation thereof; and a head space coupler coupleablebetween the reservoir and the expansion pack, wherein the expansion packcomprises at least one sensor and further comprises an intake sectionconfigured to couple to the head space coupler, wherein the at least onesensor is configured to measure at least one parameter associated with amedium received at the intake section.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein the control unit is configured to communicatively couple to theexpansion pack via at least one communication path.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the at least one communication path is a physicallywired communication path.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the atleast one communication path is a wireless communication path.
 14. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the display unit is configured to display atleast one of an end of life parameter or an operational characteristicof the breather based at least in part upon the sensor signal.
 15. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the control unit comprises a controllerconfigured to perform one or more operations upon the received at leastone of the measured operational parameter or representation thereof, todetermine at least one of an end of life parameter or an operationalcharacteristic of the breather based at least in part upon a result ofthe one or more operations upon the received at least one of themeasured operational parameter or representation thereof, and to outputa visual indication of the determined at least one of the end of lifeparameter or the operational characteristic of the breather via thedisplay unit.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein the breather comprisesa plurality of operational sensors each coupleable to the expansion packwhen the expansion pack is coupled to the breather.
 17. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the plurality of operational sensors comprises atemperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of an inside ofthe housing adjacent to the temperature sensor, a first humidity sensorconfigured to measure a first humidity level adjacent to a location ofthe first humidity sensor within the housing, and a second humiditysensor configured to measure a second humidity level adjacent to alocation of the second humidity sensor within the housing, and whereinthe expansion pack is configured to transmit each of a representation ofan output of the temperature sensor, a representation of an output ofthe first humidity sensor, and a representation of an output of thesecond humidity sensor.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein theexpansion pack is configured to transmit each of the representation ofthe output of the temperature sensor, the representation of the outputof the first humidity sensor, and the representation of the output ofthe second humidity sensor via a physically wired communicationinterface.
 19. The system of claim 17, wherein the expansion pack isconfigured to transmit each of the representation of the output of thetemperature sensor, the representation of the output of the firsthumidity sensor, and the representation of the output of the secondhumidity sensor via a wireless communication interface.
 20. The systemof claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to determine at leastone end of life parameter based at least in part upon one or more of theoutput of the temperature sensor, the output of the first humiditysensor, and the output of the second humidity sensor.
 21. The system ofclaim 20, wherein the controller is configured to transmit arepresentation of the determined at least one end of life parameter tothe control unit, the control unit configured to display at least one ofan end of life parameter or an operational characteristic of thebreather based at least in part upon the one or more of the output ofthe temperature sensor, the output of the first humidity sensor, and theoutput of the second humidity sensor.
 22. The system of claim 10,wherein the at least one sensor comprises at least one of a temperaturesensor, a humidity sensor, and a pressure sensor, wherein the at leastone sensor is configured to measure the at least one parameter from airreceived via the intake section.